The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has been commended for its effort in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the territory.
The commendation came through the Project Manger, FCT Agency for the Control of AIDS (FACA), Dr. Uche Okoro, said the FCTAdministration and interactional donors agencies have mounted tremendous effort in mitigating the effect of the pandemic on people living with HIV in the territory since the first case in 1991.
He made this statement when Secretary FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya, consulted with the management staff of the Agency for the control of Aid (FACA).
Okoro said in recent times some civil society organisation that did not scale through the HIV/Aids grant selection have begun media campaign against the image of the agency.
He, however, said the agency would not be intimidated by the action of “those few civil society organisations, but rather will continue to discharge its mandate in unbiased, fair and equitable manner with high degree of professionalism in attending zero new HIV infection in the FCT.”
Secretary, Health & Human Services Secretariat, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya, in his remarks, said World Bank had been supporting the government of Nigeria in the area of HIV/AIDs programme development project (HSDPI) which ended in March 2010.
He said in February 2011, the World Bank and federal government of Nigeria signed agreement to fund HIV/AIDs response in Nigeria for the period of five years with the sum of $225 million.
He said World Bank HIV/AIDS Program Development project 2 (HSDP2) was being implemented in 36 states of the federation plus FCT and National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA).
Secretary added that HSDP 2 had three component which including expanding the public sector Supports for HIV/AIDS activities for the federal states and king ministries, expanding the civil and private sector response to the HIV/AIDs epidemic and lastly strengthening mechanisms for project coordination and management support capacity building at federal and state governments.
He said in pursuit of Component 2 of HSDP in providing grants to civil society organisation to carry out HIV/AIDs prevention in FCT through FACA in 2013 the world Bank advertised in three dailies “Request for Expression of interest from qualified civil society organisations and 97 Civil Society Organisations submitted their expression of interest which resulted in the constitution of a five-member team to review according to World Bank guidelines and procedures.’
